What do I know with Isaac Carroll
What do I know with Isaac Carroll
Mark 7, The Challenge of Following God's Word Instead of Human Traditions
Where do we get religious ceremonies and traditions? Are they biblical? In our study of Mark 7, Jesus confronts this very issue when religious leaders criticize his disciples for not following handwashing traditions. Rather than defending the practice, Jesus exposes their hypocrisy, quoting Isaiah: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."
The Pharisees had created elaborate rituals that began with good intentions but eventually superseded God's actual commandments. Jesus highlights their practice of "Korban" – declaring possessions as dedicated to God to avoid supporting aging parents – as a prime example of using tradition to circumvent the commandment to honor father and mother. This powerful lesson challenges us to examine whether our own religious practices truly align with God's heart or merely satisfy human traditions.
We then witness two remarkable healings that reveal different aspects of Jesus's character. First, a Gentile woman approaches Jesus seeking deliverance for her demon-possessed daughter. Though initially rebuffed with what seems like harsh words, her humble persistence demonstrates the approach we should take with God – recognizing our complete dependence rather than coming with entitlement. Later, Jesus heals a deaf man using unusual methods, showing how he meets people at their level of faith and often gives more than we request. These accounts remind us that God doesn't want us to fail but desires to prosper us, meeting our needs in ways that exceed our expectations.
Join us as we explore these profound truths that challenge our understanding of what truly pleases God – not external religious performance but hearts fully surrendered to His will. Have you examined whether your spiritual practices draw you closer to God's heart or simply fulfill religious obligations? Listen now and let this ancient wisdom transform your approach to faith.
May God bless you and lead you always.
Welcome to the podcast. I'm Isaac Carroll and this is what Do I Know. All right, in today's Bible study we're going to be in Mark, the seventh chapter, and we're going to begin at verse one. The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered to him after they came from Jerusalem, saw some of his disciples were eating their bread with unholy hands. That is unwashed, for the Pharisees and all the others do not eat unless they have carefully washed their hands, thereby holding firmly to the traditions of the elders. And when they came for the marketplace, they did not eat unless they completely cleansed themselves. And there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold to, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him why do your disciples not walk in accordance with the traditions of the elders but eat their bread with unholy hands? But he said to them Rightly did Isaiah prophecy about you hypocrites? As it is written, the people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And in vain do they worship me. Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, neglecting the commandments of God. You hold to the traditions of men. He also was saying to them. You are experts at setting aside the commandments of God in order to keep your traditions, for Moses said honor your father and your mother, and the one who speaks evil a father or mother is certainly to be put to death. But you say if a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you, is Korban, that is given to God. You no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, thereby invalidating the word of God by your traditions, which you have handed down. And you do many such things as that.
Speaker 1:After he had called the crowd to him again, he began to say to them Listen to me, all of you, and understand. There is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him. But the things which come out of the person are what defile a person, which can defile him if it goes into him. But the thing which comes out of the person are the ones that defile the person. And when he later entered a house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about this parable and he said to them Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart but into his stomach and is eliminated. And he was saying evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts and murders, acts of adultery, deeds of greed and wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envies and slander, and pride and foolishness, all these evil things come from within. That's what defiles a person. All right, let's stop here at verse 23 and let's look at a couple of things.
Speaker 1:Paul makes a statement in Hebrews 10 that I want to point out. It starts at verse one. It says Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God is for the Israelites, for their salvation, for I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge, because they were ignorant of God's righteousness and they sought to establish their own, since they did not submit to God's righteousness. Now, in this exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders, jesus repeats the Old Testament passage in Isaiah 29. He says these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, and in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, thereby neglecting the commandments of God. You hold to the traditions of men. Now these people are zealous for God. They desire to show God their righteousness, to prove that they are worthy of the fact that they are called to be separate from the world. They are called God's chosen people and they want to prove this fact, that they are special, by doing all these different things that they think will please God. But God's saying if you want to really please me, listen to the words I'm saying to you.
Speaker 1:In this passage. Jesus says God said honor your father and your mother. But if someone says anything that I have is dedicated to God, all right. So why would you dedicate something to God for God's purpose? Maybe you said this land is for God's purpose. It's going to do a certain thing. Everything out of it is going to go to the house of God. It's more of a sacrifice. So you're sacrificing, showing your righteousness, showing your piety, you're giving to God as if God needed anything from you, since how he provided all things for you.
Speaker 1:God said it'd be more important and you'd be more godly if you would have done what I've asked. You see, your mother and father are in need. I've asked you see, your mother and father are in need. Even the church, the elders of the church, should have told him. No, your mother and father are in need and the land that you have dedicated to God should be going to first, to do what God said, which is take care of your father and your mother.
Speaker 1:But these men were saying, no, you can't take care of anyone else, but it has to go to God. As if going to a temple or going to the people who serve the temple is more important than doing what God said. And we kind of fall into that same category today. Doing what God told us to do is paramount to all things. Not what we feel is right, but what we know is right. And how can we know something is right? Well, we have to hear to God's word. God knows our heart, but if our heart's desire, as these men's were, was to show something or to prove something, god said, you'd be even better off if you'd just followed what I said, you would have really proved that you cared about my commandments. You truly cared about me. If you'd have just stuck to what I told you to do, this would have proved you love me. Jesus said many times if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. Now everybody might say well, we're talking about all the commandments. Jesus basically said if you truly love me, you'll keep two. Love God with all your heart, your soul and your mind and your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. God gave you 10 commandments. One of them was honor your father and mother. How well have we done that?
Speaker 1:The other thing I like to talk about is, in the Old Testament, the severity of the punishment for a crime. Jesus said if someone says something evil about their father or mother, they were to surely be put to death. Now, why was the crime? Why was the punishment so severe? Because it was always death and the people of Israel were set apart to show the rest of the world the love of God, the wonderfulness of God. But it also shows you the severity of sin. So what does sin do? It separates us from God. So what is death? Separation from God? The answer, or the punishment, was always death, because that's what sin leads to separation from God, and that's why the punishment was always so severe, because separation from God, in the end, is the worst punishment. It is the worst fate anyone can find yourself. To get this point across, god made that punishment so severe. All right, let's continue at his feet Now.
Speaker 1:The woman was a Gentile of a Seraphim descent and she repeatedly asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he was saying to her let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and to throw it to the dogs. But she answered and said to him yes, lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs. And he said to her Because of this answer, go, the demon has gone out of your daughter. And after going back to her home she found the child laying on the bed and the demon was gone Again.
Speaker 1:He left the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Acropolis, and they brought to him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking. They begged him to lay his hands on him and Jesus took him aside from the crowd by himself and he put his fingers in his ears and after spitting, he touched the tongue with his saliva and, looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, he said Epithatha, that is be opened. And his ears were opened and the impediment in his tongue was removed and began to speak plainly. And he gave them orders not to tell anyone, but the more he ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it and they were utterly astonished, saying he has done all things well. He makes even those who are deaf hear and those who are unable to talk to speak. All right, that concludes Mark 7.
Speaker 1:Alright, a couple things before we finish out. What did you think about the interaction between Jesus and the Gentile woman? How did it make you feel when he said to her it's not good to take the bread from the children's table and to cast it to the dogs. Basically, he called her a dog. What do you think the point was? I thought a lot about this. After the fact, it's easy for us knowing Jesus died for all of us, that he paid the punishment and the price for our sin.
Speaker 1:It's easy for us to deal with this conversation right now, but thinking about the woman, it's why Israel is so hated right now. It's why they've been hated so long. It's why they've been hated for so long is because God chose them. I mean, you think of Jacob and the coat of many colors. His brother hated him because his father had loved him more. His father chose him out of all of them to dote on, to give a coat to a special coat, to make him special among his brothers and his brothers hated him for it. The world hates Israel for the fact that they were chosen, singled out Among all the other nations in the world. Israel was singled out as someone special and they're even hated to this day because of it.
Speaker 1:This woman, when she comes to Jesus, she knows what she needs. She needs help. She's desperate. Now I don't know if she has a past of hating Israel, and maybe there was people around who had envy in their hearts for Israel or looked, you know, with disdain on them. I'm not sure, but this exchange teaches us something. It teaches us the humbleness we need to come to Jesus, as this woman did. We're in desperate need and he has what we need. It shows the humbleness that is required in our hearts to see ourself as what we really are. The last thing I'd like to talk about is the man who couldn't hear, the death man who couldn't speak. Now I want you to think about something.
Speaker 1:Jesus performs this act. That really doesn't make sense. I mean, mark is the only one who talks about this Jesus. He sticks his fingers in his ear and he spits on them, and he sticks them in his ear and he says open, be opened. Jesus just cast out a demon that wasn't even in the vicinity of where he was at. We know that when the centurion came to Jesus about his servant, he said I'm not fit to have you under my roof, but just speak the words and it will be done. Jesus marveled at his faith because he hadn't found such a great faith in all of Israel and he said it is done as you have believed. It shows you this man's faith, that Jesus had to go through this act to build a man's faith.
Speaker 1:We know that when Jesus went home to his home hometown his own hometown and he says they couldn't do very many miracles there. Jesus can do whatever he wants. He's God, but he doesn't force himself on anyone. This man had a lack of faith. Jesus still wanted him to be healed, even though these people were pushing. Their desire wasn't for a show, they wanted to see another great miracle. They were more excited about the miracles than they were about the fact that the kingdom of God had come among them, that there was salvation to be had.
Speaker 1:How greatly we desire for Jesus to come back. We want to be in his presence. They were in his presence and they missed it. It makes me wonder, man, how much do we miss? Because of the love of Jesus? He performs this act of spitting on his finger and sticking it in his ear and saying be open, so the man would believe and his ears would be opened. And then Jesus gives him more, as it always does. He gives him more than what he asked for. He opens his ears, lets him be able to hear, but he also opens his mouth and he fixes his speech to where he can talk plainly. He doesn't have to hear how badly he spoke. Jesus always gives us more than we could ever ask for, because he loves us. It's his desire to help us, and in a passage it says my desire is to prosper you and not to harm you.
Speaker 1:So often we see God as a father who looks down on us and is always watching us to see if we're going to make a mistake, as if he wanted us to fail. God doesn't want us to fail. He wants us to succeed. He's rooting for us. He's never done anything to harm us. Why do we judge him so harshly? I'm going to end this one here. We'll be at Mark, the 8th chapter, in our next Bible study. Until then, I love you guys. Why do we judge him so harshly? I'm going to end this one here. We'll be at Mark, the eighth chapter, in our next Bible study. Until then, I love you guys. No-transcript.